With superhuman registration now mandatory, someone has to train today's rookies to become tomorrow's heroes. That's where The Initiative comes in. This series follows a cast of greenhorns and their quirky instructors as they struggle through a year of boot camp. Fans of teen superhero drama will eat this book up, though the rotating cast may be a turnoff for some.

Brian Michael Bendis is currently in charge of both main Avengers books. New Avengers stars the underground heroes on the wrong side of the law (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc) while Mighty focuses on the official, government-sanctioned squad (Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, The Sentry, etc.). Because both books are currently presenting a series of single issue stories dealing with various aspects of the current Secret Invasion event, there is little to distinguish one book from the other.

As the event passes and the two series settle down, we'll be sure to update the guide and let you know whether either book is worth your time. At the moment both are, but only for those dutifully following along with Secret Invasion.

Captain America

Captain America is known as the Star-Spangled Avenger. In life, he was the hero all others looked up to. He represented all the ideals of the American Dream, and eventually died in his fight to uphold them. No single death has ever affected the Marvel U. in such a profound way.

While we'd urge prospective readers to start at the beginning of the current volume of Captain America, we understand that may not be an option for everybody. In that case, issue #25 is a good jumping-on point. This issue contains Cap's big death scene. From there the series thrives in the absence of its main character, presenting twist after twist until the eventual emergence of a new Cap. That's only the start of an even greater conflict, however.